A Win-Win-Win Situation
by The Path of Supreme Conquest
Summary: He had hesitated at first, but he didn't understand why he had been at all nervous about approaching the miko. He was, after all, brilliant, and amazing, and perfect too. He should have expected such an amazing outcome from the beginning.


**Be prepared to read the least Halloween themed Halloween one shot ever. Also, be prepared to shake your head in absolute befuddlement. **

**That's always a good think to prepare for.**

**But:**

**There are dead girls galore!**

**(Well, only one, but…)**

…

**Prompt: Bloodied Smiles (Sent by: Darksknight)**

…

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

…

Sango did a final flourish with the mascara wand and stepped back to admire her work. She placed her hand under her chin and cocked her head.

"What do you think, Kikyo?" she asked, calling over her friend.

The addressed girl walked over and looked at what Sango had done. "It's beautiful. A masterpiece."

"I call this look 'bloodied smiles.' That means you have to smile, Kagome."

Kagome only scowled harder as she looked in the handheld mirror Sango had given her earlier. She had no idea what Kikyo had been talking about; she looked terrible.

Her pale skin was sharply contrasted by the deep, blood red lipstick, drawing unnecessary attention to her pouty lips. She had on mascara and her eyes were rimmed tastefully with charcoal black eyeliner.

All in all, the look was simple, but she looked gorgeous. She wasn't willing to admit it though, so she looked terrible.

"I hate it!" she cried vehemently.

Sango and Kikyo rolled their eyes, used to their friend's unwillingness to acknowledge how attractive she was.

"Now, now," Kikyo murmured, walking away gracefully.

"Yeah, Kagome," Sango said, helping her friend out of her chair. "You promised that for Halloween, you would be someone else. That means you can't be your usually self-deprecating self. Have a bit more confidence; it's not like there aren't a million guys drooling over you already. And with how you look today, you might just snag the entire male population."

"Minus Jakotsu," Kikyo chimed in, walking back over to her friends with a garment bag in hand.

"No," Kagome corrected. "Minus Jakotsu and the one guy I want to pay attention to me!"

Sango and Kikyo shared a look.

"Kagome," Sango began delicately, knowing she was treading on thin ice. "Why don't you just give up on him? I mean, he's not that great. Especially if he can't see how gorgeous you are, even without makeup on."

Kagome pouted. "I don't want to give up on Hojo," she whined.

Sango sighed disparagingly. Before she could say anything, however, Kikyo held up the garment bag.

"You need to get dressed, Kagome. We can talk about this later."

Kagome scowled and stood, snatching the bag from Kikyo. "I don't want to talk about it later!" she said.

"Get dressed," Kikyo repeated.

Kagome narrowed her eyes as she unzipped the bag. "What is it? You guys didn't tell me anything."

"You're supposed to be a dead princess from the Warring States Era."

"What?!" Kagome shrieked. "I'm a dead girl?"

"Just get dressed, Kagome," Kikyo said.

Kagome glared, but complied, grumbling to herself the whole time.

…

Kagome sat in the chair in the corner, sighing to herself every now and then as she looked at all of the people in front of her. It was a typical, un-chaperoned, teenage party, with loud, but not too loud, music (the youkai had to be considered), kissing, and illegal alcohol (including a jug of the finest youkai sake available, which Inuyasha had snuck up to the party from the cellar).

Kagome blew her bangs out of her face. Why had she even come? Kikyo and Sango had blackmailed her, that's why. She didn't know why they had done it; Inuyasha's Halloween party wasn't _that_ big of a deal. Sometimes, she thought they were sadists, to be honest. They just wanted her to be here so that she could see Hojo's new girlfriend fawn over him.

She scoffed. "She's the one that needs no-smudge lipstick," she muttered to herself, thinking despondently of the lipstick that Sango had put on her. "Just in case she decided to kiss some guy tonight," her friend had said.

"As if!" Kagome said to herself.

She didn't need no-smudge lipstick. She didn't have a use for it. She would not be kissing any guys, because Hojo was taken, and she didn't want anyone else.

Kagome pouted and slumped in her seat. "It would be so much better if he had a thing for dead girls."

"Hn."

Kagome squeaked and jumped, placing a hand over her heart. After she had calmed down, she looked to the side and saw Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older brother, standing there. Her eye twitched as she looked at him; how in the world had she missed him? He was projecting his aura like crazy! She couldn't have been that distracted…

"Uh… hey!" she said, hoping he hadn't heard what she had been saying.

He blinked. "Dead girls?"

Kagome's eyes widened and she flushed, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't questioning her about her lipstick. "Uh… I'm a dead girl. Or a princess, or something," she said, motioning to her simple, pure white outfit, which almost resembled a nemaki.

He continued to stare at her.

Kagome's blush darkened. "Uh… So, you're dressed as your father. That's cool. How'd he convince you to do that?"

Sesshomaru looked down at his outfit. "He insisted that it would be good luck in my endeavors for the night."

Kagome cocked her head. "What endeavors?"

Sesshomaru blinked and looked over his shoulder. Behind him, he saw his half-brother waving wildly, gesturing for him to make his move. Miroku was grinning, and Sango and Kikyo were nodding. His lips curled into a sneer.

"Tch," he scoffed.

"Sesshomaru?"

He stiffened and turned back to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, standing and walking up to him. She placed her hand on his arm.

He stiffened further and nodded curtly. "Hn."

He walked off abruptly, leaving Kagome to stare in confusion. He continued walking, not looking back, until he reached his half-brother. He cuffed Inuyasha on the head and kept walking.

He got outside and growled under his breath when he realized that his half-brother and all of his companions had followed him.

"What in the world did you do that for?"

Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha and growled. "You were distracting."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Feh! What was I distracting you from? Talking about your costume maybe?"

Kikyo put a restraining hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, instantly calming him down. Unfortunately, there was no one to calm Sesshomaru down (where was Kagome when you needed her?), so Miroku had to step up.

"Relax, Sesshomaru. We just think that maybe you should make your move. You have to be a bit bolder than you're being now."

Sesshomaru's eyebrow twitched.

Miroku chuckled weakly.

Sango sighed. "Listen, Sesshomaru. You're already behind in the game. Kagome has no idea you like her, and she's stuck on Hojo. Plus, she has a thing for dense, insipid, weak-willed men in general. Like Hojo, and before him… Akitoki. You have a lot of handicaps, but you're only making it worse by not doing anything."

Sesshomaru stared at her. And he stared at her some more. And then he continued to stare at her until she started fidgeting. Once he was satisfied that she was properly intimidated, he sniffed.

"I do not need your advice," he stated, before brushing past them all and walking back inside. He walked straight through the crowd that parted before him, ignoring everyone. He once again walked up to the miko whose affections he was attempting to gain.

"Hn," he murmured, unsure of how else to get her attention.

She turned to him, blinking owlishly, an innocent action that was in complete contrast with her sultry look. Sesshomaru sighed inwardly, wishing that he hadn't fallen in love with someone so painfully contradictory and oblivious to her appeal.

"Sesshomaru. What happened?"

"Nothing," he replied shortly.

"Oh. Okay," she said shrugging. "Hey, do you know if Inuyasha put out any non-alcoholic drinks?"

"He did not," Sesshomaru replied.

"Darn. Is it okay if I go to the kitchen and get something? I don't feel like getting drunk."

Sesshomaru blinked, his mind working furiously. She wanted to go to the kitchen to get a drink. This was his house. He could take her to the kitchen while she got her drink under the guise of being a good host. He would then have her alone. It would be the perfect opportunity.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome questioned, confused by his silence.

"I will take you," he said in response.

Kagome blinked. "To the kitchen, you mean?"

Sesshomaru nodded.

Kagome smiled. "Thanks, but you don't have to. I've been here before, you know; I know where the kitchen is."

Sesshomaru's expression didn't change, causing Kagome's eye to twitch. It seemed he was dead-set on escorting her. She shrugged. It didn't really matter; in fact, it was almost sweet.

"Well, thanks, I guess."

Sesshomaru nodded.

Kagome smiled again. "Well, let's go," she chirped.

Sesshomaru nodded again. With that, they started forward, Sesshomaru cutting a path through the throngs of wildly gyrating, drunk, costumed people, and Kagome offering polite apologies in his wake.

When they reached the kitchen, Kagome let out a sigh of relief. It was quiet, and empty, and peaceful, and perfect. Smiling, she walked over to the cabinet, opened it and grabbed her cup. She closed the cabinet door and turned around, only to find Sesshomaru leaning over her. She blinked in confusion as she registered that he had her trapped against the counter, one of his hands on either side of her. She cocked her head.

"Sesshomaru? What are you doing?"

Sesshomaru didn't even breathe as he looked down at her. What was he doing? He growled inaudibly as he realized the answer: he was following the advice of his half-brother and his stupid friends. He was making his move.

Always the type to follow through with whatever path he chose, Sesshomaru didn't pull away.

"Uh… Sesshomaru?"

"I am confronting you."

Kagome blinked. "Do you have to do it so close?" she asked, unsure what he was talking about, but knowing that she was on the verge of blushing at his close proximity.

Sesshomaru pulled away slowly, but continued to stand over her. He loomed really.

Kagome cleared her throat and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Thank you. Now, what are you confronting me about?"

"Your obsession with Hojo," Sesshomaru said, his voice dripping with venom when he said Hojo's name.

Kagome spluttered, dropping her cup as she waved her hands. "I am not obsessed with him!" she protested.

"Infatuated then," Sesshomaru said.

Kagome flushed. "It isn't an infatuation! I just like him, okay? I have a crush on him! And why are _we _talking about this? I don't believe that Sango and Kikyo put you up to this. What's the deal?"

Sesshomaru ignored her. "Your crush is unacceptable. You are no longer allowed to like him."

Now, Sesshomaru knew this wasn't the right course of action when dealing with Kagome, and though he didn't enjoy brining her wrath down upon himself, he felt it was better to do things this way, since he was doing things.

Why he felt it was better to do things this way was beyond even his comprehension.

"Unacceptable?" Kagome whispered, her power crackling in the air.

Sesshomaru braced himself, trying to prepare his ears for the onslaught that was sure to come.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT MY CRUSH ON HOJO IS UNACCEPTABLE! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SAY WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE FOR ME AND WHAT'S NOT! WHO IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH? WHAT MADE YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME? WELL? ANSWER ME!"

He tuned her out as best he could, focusing on the fact that she was now poking his chest repeatedly, shocking him with her powers each time. He had a feeling that he was going to have a very serious burn on his chest for the next few days. He really needed to make her stop. But she was still yelling and he really didn't know how to respond to what she was saying (mostly because he had stopped listening), so he didn't know what to do.

Well, he could kiss her…

A slow smirk wormed its way onto his face. This was as bad as his last idea, but he liked it so much more. Yes, he decided, kissing her sounded great. It was a win-win-win situation for him: he would get to kiss her, she would shut up and stop poking him, and he could successfully convey his interest in her.

He really was brilliant.

In one swift move, Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist, pulled her to him, and crushed his lips against hers.

She gasped. Sesshomaru didn't hesitate to take full advantage of the opportunity her surprise presented him with.

When he finally pulled away, Sesshomaru was feeling very confident and, very, very smug.

"No-smudge?" he questioned, cocking his eyebrow as he looked down at the miko in his arms, wondering how it was possible for someone to be so red.

Kagome's eyes widened and she flushed even further at his statement; he had heard what she had said about her lipstick. "No-smudge," Kagome affirmed with a squeak.

"Hnn. You will cease liking Hojo," Sesshomaru repeated, before letting Kagome go and walking out of the room.

He stopped just on the other side of the door.

"Oh. My. Goodness," he heard her whisper.

His ears caught a muffled squeal.

And, in spite of the fact that his half-brother's female friends would most certainly berate him for his behavior, in spite of the fact that he would have to endure annoying and inappropriate comments from his half-brother and his monk friend, in spite of the fact that his father would insist he had only accomplished what he had because he was wearing a stupid costume, in spite of it all, Sesshomaru smirked.

Now, if he could only figure out if he had actually accomplished something…

…

**Did he actually accomplish anything aside from shutting her up?**

**Most likely not.**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**T.N.T!**


End file.
